I know I speak a lot about living the Christian life in union with Christ.
The phrase “union with Christ” isn’t in the Bible, but it’s shorthand for when the Bible says that Christ is in you, and you are in him.
We’re going to look at how the last 3 of the 10 Commandments are worked through in these chapters of Deuteronomy.
But I want you to hear these things rightly:
- You will fall far short of the heart of these commands, but the aim isn’t to beat you up!
- The aim is to call you to repentance so that you will run to Christ for forgiveness.
- And then that you will run to Christ for help so that you can live life in union with Christ in a way that pleases him.
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church in April 2025. You can find more in the series in our sermon index.
Be a Giver
We’ve been going through Deuteronomy 12-26 looking at how the 10 Commandments flow out into the detailed laws for society.
So we’re looking at the 8th Commandment, “Do not steal.”
And in the Bible, prohibitions are usually only the minimum standard: You’re expected to choose to be a generous giver.
Let’s see what that looks like. We’ll jump around a little as the themes are mixed in with one another in these chapters. The reason for that is that theft, honesty, and covetousness are often interlinked, so it’s no surprise to see laws relating to them mixed together too.
Generosity
Read Deut 24:14-15.
- Notice how the law especially defends the poor and vulnerable: The law reflects the LORD’s heart.
- In the New Testament, James picks up on this law in condemning rich people: James 5:1-4
- Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you… Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies… You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
- To sin against the poor is to sin against God.
And read Deut 24:10-11.
- Again, the law defends the poor and vulnerable.
- The Teacher in Ecclesiastes 5:8-11 speaks of how wealth goes up the food chain, not down, as people hoard money for themselves: Worse, people are never satisfied:
- The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile… what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes?
- Wouldn’t it be better for you and others to be generous, not reaping to the edges of your fields?
- Are you a taker only, or a generous giver? And that’s more than money: Give respect, time, love, help.
Read Deut 25:4.
- It was common practice to have an ox tethered, walking in circles, treading grain down under its feet.
- A money-driven heart would muzzle the ox to protect profit.
- Don’t be that kind of person; have a generous heart.
- Paul applies the same logic to paying Christian leaders in 1 Cor 9:9 and 1 Tim 5:18: A Pastor’s appointment is from Christ for you. Will you take, and not give?
Honesty
And lastly on “do not steal” is a reading that also connects with being honest: Read Deut 25:13-16.
The idea is that you’re not to weigh out two pounds of grain using something that you know weighs less. It’s fraud; it’s theft. Don’t cheat on your timesheet. Don’t lie on your tax return. If someone gives you too much change, tell them.
Notice how all this is low-key, daily life.
It’s not parading yourself as “someone who does a lot for charity”. It’s a straightforward life with an open heart and an open hand. Be a giver. And remember: Everything you have is the Lord’s already. When you give, someone is receiving from him. More negatively, the more you keep for yourself the less you display his generosity. Is that really life in union with Christ?
We turn to the 9th commandment: Do not bear false witness. Or:
Be a true witness of righteousness
The language of the 9th commandment is judicial: It’s court language, about seeing justice in the world.
So read Deut 24:16-18.
- Justice should be blind to social standing.
- Again, you can see how the law especially protects the most vulnerable members of society.
- So it’s important for Christians to take a stand in support those who are most vulnerable in our society: Oppose abortion for convenience. Oppose euthanasia. Take a stand on matters of sexual ethics, not least to protect prepubescent children from adult abuse – physical or ideological.
And that issue of avoiding favouritism based on social standing applies to church hospitality too: James 2:1-5 has a clear command on avoiding favouritism with visitors to church: My brothers and sisters, do not show favouritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
He speaks of rich and poor, but he could just as easily have spoken about young and old, or even English or foreign. Show no favouritism. Christ is good news for everyone. So take a stand for him with everyone. Stand with the weak.
Judgment on Amalek
How serious is the protection of the vulnerable to God?
Read Deut 25:17-19.
- Who would have been the stragglers? The weak, the old, the sick, the very young.
- Where Israel were commanded to protect such people, the Amalekites had particularly targeted them. Not unlike our own society, in the light of things like abortion and euthanasia. How must the Lord’s anger be burning against our society?
God brings justice. He does so with absolute patience, full knowledge, and appropriate punishment.
So Israel were to judge likewise: Read Deut 25:1-3.
The victim of the crime didn’t get to set the punishment. The judge set the punishment, and then oversaw it. It would usually have been far less than 40 lashes. But even here, the victims remain Israelites and are protected from being degraded.
Judgment is to be measured and punishment to be apt.
Stand up for what’s right, not your rights
Even so, you must recognise that the dignity of someone else is often more important than you standing up for your rights. Read Deut 24:10-13. Again, as you consider your rights it’s often better (and more Christlike) to give with an open hand. It’s pleasing to God, because it’s what he is like with you. When Jesus spoke of going the extra mile it was exactly that: It’s often better to do right than stand for your rights.
So the 9th commandment, “Do not bear false witness” (or CSB “Do not give dishonest testimony against your neighbor”) has a broad application of true justice in society, but without ever losing sight of compassion.
- The order of the 10 commandments is often helpful in trying to decide what’s right in a given situation.
- “Should I demand what I’m owed, or write it off?” It’s better to give than to receive. Judicial rights come after the other commands for a reason (we’ll get to the 10th command shortly!).
A witness of God
As you live your life in union with Christ, living out these commandments, you will be a true witness of God in the world. You will be a witness of God’s own righteousness. The two Hebrew words for justice and righteousness have a sense of “doing right” and “putting right”. You will do right as you live life as a giver with an open heart and an open hand. And you’ll put right as you are a witness of God’s righteousness, standing up for the weak and vulnerable.
And all this really matters because these laws declare the very heart of God. He is a giver – he gives and gives to all, all the time. He is righteous and compassionate, patient and good. God knows every sin, every injustice, and will hold every sin accountable – no sin goes unpunished.
But we’ve also seen over and over how these commands aren’t just about ticking boxes: They’re heart issues. When you see a command to give, you can’t help but cling to your money, your stuff – as if it really were yours. When called on to be a true witness, you’d rather keep your head down than start speaking up for others who can’t speak up for themselves.
And that’s especially hard because of the 10th commandment: Do not covet your neighbour’s wife or desire your neighbour’s house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.
Coveting is a heart issue by definition! How can you command someone to reshape their desires?
Live Life in Union with Christ
Chapter 26 is a lovely conclusion to all these detailed laws.
Give to God
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 are about what the Israelites were to do with their very first harvest in Canaan, the Promised Land. They were to present some of their firstfruits to the Lord.
You’d get your basket and take it to the tabernacle, where the Lord was. Read Deut 26:4-5, 10-11.
It’s just you and the Lord, where you acknowledge that you came from nothing and everything you have is from him. In 1 Chronicles 29, King David prays to God about how generous he and the nation had been towards building a new Temple in Jerusalem. He said to the Lord, “everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your own hand.”
Feeling covetous? Everything you have has come from the Lord’s hand. Did he miss something? Did he do wrong?
Give to others for God
And again, Deuteronomy 26:12-15 promote giving a tenth of your produce away: Read Deuteronomy 26:12, 15.
Notice that the act of giving to those who have no land or ability to produce food for themselves is consciously a gift made before God. Many of us give to the church electronically, and you can lose sight of the act of giving. Maybe take a look at your giving, and review it consciously before God. What you give is between you and him. But all you have is already his. Never forget that.
If you still feel in your heart that giving your money, time, or energy to the Lord is a problem, remember why the Lord has given them to you: 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit… A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good…
He gives you what he gives you for the common good, not just your pleasure.
Relationship
If all these laws are a heart struggle for you, what should you do?
Read the summary of all in Deuteronomy 26:16-19.
These laws are how to live in the blessing of fellowship and relationship with God himself. If you think keeping the laws will change your heart, you’re mistaken: Col 2:23 speaks of how keeping rules is of no value whatsoever in curbing indulgence in sin.
So what are you supposed to do?
I told you at the start. This isn’t meant to be a stick to beat you with.
- If you feel far, far short of the demands of these laws then you’re a perfectly normal human being.
- The law is like a searchlight, finding out your sin.
- But it’s also a spotlight, glorifying the perfect goodness of God, his care for the vulnerable, and his great compassion.
- And all that meets together in Christ.
Run to Jesus
A humble assessment of yourself in the light of God’s revelation of himself in the law should cause you to do one of two things:
- Either you’ll run away and deny it all (which is fatal).
- Or you can run to God, repenting of your offensive sins, and crying out for forgiveness. He will hear you and he will receive you. All your sins and shortcomings are forgiven at that point. Your road to perfection has begun (not to be complete in this life!) – because now you are in Christ and he is in you.
You have union with Christ, and these laws reveal what he is like. Sometimes you’re urged to ask, “What would Jesus do?” But to live a life in union with Christ is more than just trying to copy him. To have union with Christ is to be incorporated into his life. To grow in your walk with Christ is to live out your union with him more fully; the life you live is him living in you.
So it’s only by knowing Christ more fully, being more closely aligned with his heart and wisdom, that your love for God grows.
- As your love for him grows, you become more like him: You love to give more than receive. (Do not steal.)
- You grieve more over injustice and the oppression of the vulnerable. (Do not give false witness.)
- And the only thing you’ll covet is a deepening daily walk with Christ. Make him your goal, and all else will follow.
- Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:21). Make Christ your treasure and live out your union with him.